Sleep Deprivation Vs. Obesity: Lack Of Sufficient Sleep Outranks Obesity As America’s Major Health Crisis

The United States is one of the countries that's currently facing an obesity crisis where more than one-thirds of American adults are obese, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals. But according to a new study spearheaded by the United Health Foundation, sleep deprivation recently outranked obesity as America's biggest health crisis.

According to a new study titled, "Spotlight: Impact of Unhealthy Behaviors," sleep deprivation is currently the most common and pervasive unhealthy behavior among American adults today.

In the research, United Health Foundation named five unhealthy behaviors and conditions, including sleep deprivation, obesity, smoking, excessive drinking and physical inactivity, that are linked to heart disease and other chronic conditions. Researchers also found that 34.7 percent of Americans are suffering from sleep deprivation or sleeping less than seven hours every night, The Fiscal Times notes.

While sleep deprivation or insufficient sleep appears to be a minor problem that can be easily solved with coffee, experts said it's not actually that simple since almost 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep and sleeplessness disorders.

Experts also stressed that adequate amount of sleep is needed in order to aid the body in metabolizing sugar. It is also necessary for the proper functioning of the immune system.

Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, is linked to several chronic illnesses including depression, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer. Lack of sleep is also pinpointed as one of the causes of car accidents and occupational blunders.

Meanwhile, following sleep deprivation on the list was obesity. It was named as the second most common of the five aforementioned health issues in the research done by the United Health Foundation, affecting 29.6 percent of American adults.

In addition, the study also discovered that more than 70 percent of American adults have at least one of the unhealthy practices or conditions. However, 12 percent have at least three.

In other news, a new data has emerged that sleep deprivation can have the same effects as being drunk. According to Marie Claire, a scientific research has found that sleep deprivation (or 17 hours without sleep) has the same effects of a blood concentration of 0.05 percent when it comes to a person's alertness and wakefulness. And after 24 hours of without sleep, it is equivalent to about 0.1 percent of blood alcohol concentration.

So, do you think sleep deprivation and obesity are the major health issues in America today?